The Unseen
by MaiumiTaniyama
Summary: A disability is meant to be something to hold one back. Something that was a negative impact on one's life. But honestly, she felt like the world had given her a way to go against the idea of it being a disability. She couldn't see color, and certain objects aren't clear, but she knows, she can at least see, and that is better than things being left unseen.
1. Case 0-1 - Ghost Stories

**3rd Person, General**

The tension could be felt within the room. Darkness engulfed the classroom, swallowing the two beams of lights that hovered above a desk. Equipment, while off, gave off the eerie vibes of the possibility of anything happening within moments due to the age and condition they were in. For a moment, it almost sounded as if there were the weak footsteps pacing in the hallway. The girls that had heard each footfall were positive that they were figures of their imaginations. They each ignored it, their attention focused more so on the honey tinted eyes that were staring them down."The woman claimed to her husband, 'But it's true! I saw a man with no eyes staring out the window. I wouldn't lie to you, why would I ever lie?'. The man continued to insist, 'That's impossible, one with no eyes can't get around on their own! Much less look at you! I'll prove to you that there is no such man outside.'"

Opening her eyes, she saw her three friends huddled up against one another, frightened by her tale. It was another one she construed herself. "The lady continues to insist going outside is dangerous and to call the police. But her husband refuses to listen. When he puts his shoes on she grabs him by the arm, tears in her eyes, and begs him not to go. 'Please, don't! I don't want anything to happen to you, so please, don't go looking for him!' Something in her knew, if he went out, he wouldn't come back the same."

"'What's the worst that can happen, dear, as it is a blind man? Surely, nothing serious can come of it. ' Putting on his coat, he sees his wife's tear-stained cheeks accompanied by a fear-stricken expression. He ignores it. He determines that he will make her feel better by proving her tale false. Without another thought, he opens the front door and goes outside."

One of her friends was shivering, yet trying to act brave. But the bronze eyes could see it, just by the tears pricking the pigtailed girl's eyes, and the light jerking of her fingers, that she was concerned for the married couple in the story. And it wasn't surprising, as the narrator did her best to make it as nerve-wracking as possible.

"As soon as she had heard the door click shut, she goes over and to lock it. There are three locks. The knob, deadbolt, and sliding latch. Surely her husband would knock when he realizes the door is locked. There is no other way inside. She would be able to answer, after peeking through the curtain to the porch.

"It is silent for the first few seconds, then minutes. As time passes, no sound can be heard, not even the cicadas that are usually noisy during this time. The woman grows more and more fearful. She worries for the fate of her husband, but she is much too terrified to go out herself. Ten minutes of pure, uninterrupted, silence finally enables her to act. She needs to do something, regardless of her fears."

Placing her hand on the table, nowhere near where the lights of the miniature sticks, the author kept her gaze on her three friends. "Quietly, she puts on her sneakers, so worn in that they make no sound as she walks. She gets her coat; a deep shade of red that in itself could've been mistaken for blood. Despite her mind screaming at her not to go, but to stay within the safety of her home, she ventures outside for the sake of her husband. She starts to unlock the first of the three locks. Slowly, she takes the key in the slot and turns it. She takes a breath, reassuring herself that things are alright."

"But as she touches the deadbolt, there is a knock and a voice sounds from the other side. 'Dear, could you let me in? There was no need to lock the door like this.' She instantly recognizes it as her husband's voice. With a sigh of relief, she leans against the wooden barrier separating her from the man she married. He is right there, on the other side of the door. All she needs to do is open the door. After fumbling with the two remaining locks she reaches for the doorknob. The cool metal burns against her fingers as she begins to turn it and-"

"She shouldn't open it!" The girl in the middle, the one with pigtails said, her grip tightening on each of the girls next to her. The one speaking smirked. They were falling for her so easily, and it took no effort on her part. Quietly, she drummed her fingers on the table.

"But she does she open the door for him, her gaze cast downwards. But then, as her eyes move from her husband's feet to his chest, she realizes something is wrong. There is a shade of red on his coat... And that stain grows as her gaze heightens. Something deep inside told her to not look at his face, but she couldn't stop herself. And what she sees is-" She interrupted herself by slamming her free hand on her desk, making all three girls jump. One of them even squeaked out in shock. "That his eyes are gone! He has a sickening smirk on his face. His empty eye sockets are oozing red, and he raises his hand. In his palm sits both of his missing eyes!"

There was a whimper... Blinking, she noticed that they were all trying to speak, but they weren't quite sure of what to say.

"She jumps, and she takes a few steps back, her pupils dilating. he screamed. And just as she does, the body of her husband transforms into a ragdoll and falls to the ground. His limbs were unnaturally contorted and his neck was bent at a sharp angle... In that moment she knows she must go to the police, but first, she needs to get the door shut, to prevent whatever had killed her husband from harming her children."

"Oh no, not the kids!" The short-haired girl on the left gasped in shock, fearful for those children. But, even so, the tale-teller continued. "But the door does not close. No matter how hard she pushes on the door, with one hand, with two, it doesn't budge from its place. Her breath quickens, and she thinks she hears a breath in the distance, making her all the more fearful. No matter how hard she tries, the door won't close."

"The next instant she can't move. Her entire body is stiff. Fear itself wrapped around her like a snake squeezing all life out of her. Slowly, her gaze moves from the door to the outside, and all she can do is," once again, the female slammed her hand on the desk, "scream! For what she sees is enough to drain all color from her. The man from before, his eyes missing, yet he is staring into her soul. And as time passes, that face got closer, and closer, until they were nearly touching. All she hears is the clump clump of shoes banging against the floor. Then, without warning, the black lips on the face part and a howling cackle echoes in the woman's ears.."

"What happened after that, Mai?!" The look on her face went somber, as she shrugged.

"Who knows? The child who saw ran back upstairs before they could see. But they did say one thing, about what happened."

"And?" "And?!" "W-what did they say?..." All three of the girls spoke up, wishing to know about what happened afterward.

"There was a gruesome scream a few minutes after they went back to bed, and then silence until morning. When they went downstairs; Both of their parents were gone. But they knew, they felt watched for those days they were by themselves, fearing the same fate as their parents." Smirking, she moved her hand off the table, as she listened to them responding to her.

"G-geez, Mai, how do you always manage to find such scary stories like that?!"

The short-haired girl asked, but Mai simply left it without an answer, other than a chuckle, and turned out her light. That was how the game worked. Each person told a story, and then they would turn out their light. When there was one light left, it was meant to represent a ghost, and when they counted at the very end, a spirit would finish. "Isn't it Michiru's turn now?"

"Oh, yeah, it is!" All attention was drawn over to the last light, and the girl holding it.

"Alright, so, who knows about the old schoolhouse?"

"You mean that abandoned building down the path from the school?" One of the other girls asked.

"But it wasn't abandoned, it was being demolished when all the workers suddenly quit." The last storyteller's interest was peaked. Just what could have caused all the workers to quit so suddenly when demolishing? It looked like most of the building was still intact!

"But why would they quit?" The thought burst from pale lips paired with those familiar brown eyes the moment she thought it..

"Supposedly, it was because of a curse." Silence filled the room for a moment, as the current storyteller composed herself. All the other girls were both tense yet understanding of the still aura.

"There were a lot of accidents that happened in the old schoolhouse over the years. A lot of fires and mysterious accidents, some that managed to even kill some people. A student died in an empty first-floor storage room mysteriously one year, and another year, a teacher committed suicide on the second floor."

It wasn't the worst story Mai had heard by any of the others, but she had to admit, it wasn't nearly as freaky as she had expected. Even so, her lips parted in the genuine wonder of how true any of this was, and if she could possibly use any of these tales in her next story.

"And shortly after the school closed, they found a child's dead body under the hallway floorboards." Despite how uneventful that was, the simple fact of such a thing made all the girls listening shiver.

"When they built the new school building, they tried to demolish the old one." The one speaking paused for a moment as if to add tension. "However, all the workers ended up ill or in accidents that left them unable to complete demolition. On top of that, equipment would stop running, permanently.."

Mai tilted her head at the thought, once again curious about if any of it was true or not. It sounded realistic, and if it was, then it was something she surely never heard about. But considering everything, she wouldn't be surprised if that was the case either.

"Then, when they began work on the west wall, the roof collapsed and killed everyone on the first floor. That was what stopped the demolition for the first time."

She heard someone gasp, and when she looked, the other girl was biting her lip, distressed by what she had heard.

"But last year, they started the demolition project again, so that we could build a new gymnasium. But the same things started to happen again. One of the drivers that had been going to the school to collect the rubble went off the road and ran over some kids on the volleyball court. And then… One of the girls that pass by the schoolhouse on the way home says that she can see a face from the second story window, staring at her, begging to be let out."

That was made Mai inhale, not enjoying the way that was worded all that much. Spirits were so odd to her… She couldn't find herself able to understand them all that well, even though she wrote stories about them all the time.

"I'm turning the light off now…"

That made them all force themselves to relax before an entirely new sense of anxiety settled.

There was a long moment of silence, then the counting finally started.

"One…" The first girl to tell a story spoke out, gripping the desk she was in front of slightly.

"Two…" Was the second girl, who has then shakily taken a breath, and closed her eyes.

"Three…" Mai then spoke out, holding her light with a bit of a grip, but still gazing around in hopes she could see what was happening.

"Four…" The final girl spoke, clenching her teeth and stiffening.

"Five."

**Hello, I'm Maiumi, and thank you for reading the first chapter of my first in-progress writing project! I have plenty of other stories I hope to get to publish someday, but for now, my focus will be on this one, until I get it finished. And considering how long I expect it to be, following the series with its own sidetracking and side stories, that means that this will likely take a good while. So I hope you stay with me as I try to post chapters in a timely matter!**


	2. Case 0-2 - Ghost Stories

**3rd Person, Limited, Mai Taniyama**

The instant that the strange, new voice rang through their ears, the sudden wave of shock and fear hit Mai in the face. It caused her to be unable to control herself, especially when Keiko had not only grabbed ahold of her but left her searching for a way to breathe.

"Eeeeeh!" Michiru sobbed.

"It's a ghost! A ghost is here!" Saki cried out, ready to go into hiding under the desk.

"N-noo!" Keiko tightened her grip on Mai as she cried out.

The other girls were screaming bloody murder, but all that Mai could do was reach out, her eyes wide as she attempted to beg for the ability to breathe.

Then the light turned on.

It took a moment for all the students to come to the reality of everything, though Keiko continued to freak out for just a bit longer compared to the rest of them. When the mentioned girl looked a certain direction, she went silent. That was the point when the tightness around her throat went away, and this allowed her attention to follow the rest of the group. Each of them quickly looked where the door to the classroom was at since that was where the light switch in the room was located. What, or rather, whom, they witnessed was a surprise to them all.

A boy was standing in the doorway, his hand on the switch. It was someone who didn't seem to mind the fact that he scared a group of girls to the point of a complete freak out from most of them. However, it was hard to deny that despite that he could be considered good looking, even from a distance. His apparent build seemed decent and his face didn't look like one that could be competed against very easily.

It felt like forever until Mai was finally given the full freedom she longed for, Keiko moving off her body entirely, as it gave her a better chance to realize what was happening around her. In spite of the situation, the lights hindered her from being able to see without some amount of eye closing. It made the brunette stay silent for a few extra seconds, as she did her best to see as much as possible with the rapid fluttering of her eyelids.

One by one, they each calmed to the point of natural breathing patterns and relaxed postures. That was when she caught what Michiru was saying, "Ah… Were you the one who just said something?..."

"Yes… Is there something wrong?" The teen responded, crossing his arms as he spoke, though it didn't feel quite as if he was questioning if his actions were an issue.

The girls collapsed against their seats in relief, compared to their slightly relaxed postures from just two comments before.

"Holy cow," Michiru quickly let out, "You scared me half to death!"

"Sorry about that," he once again spoke, starting to make his way to the middle of the classroom, "The light was on, so I didn't expect anyone to be here. But then I heard voices, so…"

It didn't take long for her classmates to process the looks this person had and started to approach him, meeting him near the front of the area. Saki interrupted what was being said by the newcomer, "It's okay, no worries!-"

"Are you a transfer student?" Keiko suddenly asked, interrupting the other girl, and obviously love-stricken by little more than a face and choice words.

It sometimes made Mai wonder if her friends would ever survive a good-looking man attacking them, or worse. If they were willing to accept the idea of a stranger mysteriously appearing in the room, it was worth wondering how they would react if they got robbed by someone of similar posture and word choice.

"Sort of." That was all he offered as a reply to the question, which made the other girls swoon more so than before.

The statement that was given was successful in annoying Mai. If it were any other logical, handsome male, then they would be all over this scenario. Attempting to flirt with a set of girls and trying to have them fall for them to the point of no return. This guy, in particular, was proving to either be searching for something else within the conversation or was too ignorant to notice the position he was in. Both possibilities interested her, for some unusual reason.

"What grade are you in?" Saki prompted, which made it obvious to the brunette that attempting to convince them of how awkward the entire situation was would be useless. All she felt she could do was watch from afar as they act lovesick.

"I'll turn seventeen this year." He could almost be pitied, as he was quickly swarmed by a group of only three girls with little space to free himself out of their grasp. But then Mai recalled, he caused her to be choked out by her friend for enough time for it to have been possible for her to pass out.

"Oh," Michiru happily exclaimed, "then you're our senpai by a year!"

It wasn't until that moment that it processed to the abandoned girl. Instead of stating his grade, he said how old he was turning in the current school year. She found it odd, especially when any other person, even a transfer student, would prefer to say their grade. This was when she started to legitimately focus on the conversation.

Closing her eyes, she took a breath, making certain that her breath outwards was silent. It was just for a few milliseconds, but she believed that it was plenty of time. Even if it was pure instinct calling out to her, he seemed much more composed compared to any usual person. To entertain her friends, even more so all three of them, has proven to be a feat that most people can't handle. This made her keep her gaze on him. He wasn't wearing a uniform, she could tell that much from a distance. But, possibly, he had yet to get one, if he was a sudden transfer student. School uniforms took time to be made and sent out.

"-We were just telling ghost stories." Keiko's voice made Mai snap out of her internal rambling.

"Oh, really?" His attention moved to the one who spoke, "Would you mind if I joined your next session?"

"Of course not, please do join us next time!" The one who asked managed to release the excited response from her lips, before the other girl, Saki, spoke in her place.

"By the way, what's your name?"

There was an upturn of his lips before he answered, "Shibuya."

There was enough of the conversation there that it convinced Mai that it was time to let this strange, concern-worthy person return to his tasks and for her and her friends to get their things in order to head home for the evening. This was supposed to be a ghost stories session, not a flirt war over a stranger that randomly appeared at the end of their stories. Her gaze sharpened minimally, as she stood and took a couple of steps closer, for the sake of easier conversation between the two of them.

"So, 'Mr. Shibuya'," The brunette was tempted to thread his name with the venom that her mouth wanted to spit, but refrained herself from doing so.

Shibuya turned his attention to her and kept his grin as he responded to her, "Yes?"

Her lips wished to part, and her eyes gave off a slight glint from his upkeep of the personality he seemed to keep in line, but she kept herself composed. "What exactly are you doing here so late, anyway?"

There was a moment that almost felt like an eternity to the amber haired girl. She had to affirm to herself that the aura that he was giving off after her words were indeed reality. Despite the smile he was offering to them, it was as if he wanted nothing to do with this conversation. Yet he was forcing himself to endure it, with some odd logic behind it.

"I had a couple of things to do in this classroom before I went home," Shibuya answered, closing his eyes and starting to move the conversation to the other three adolescents.

In an attempt to keep the attention on herself, so her friends could also train their focus on the brunette, Mai quickly spoke up. "Well, you can get on with whatever you were doing, because we're leaving."

"EHHH?!" Her three classmates cried out at once, which she assumed would be the start of an upcoming conversation over her comment. But Mai wanted to get home. She had homework to finish, and a house to clean. And she was fairly certain that the others also had tasks to complete, and meals to eat. They had already remained in school longer than they initially intended.

"Mai!" Michiru retorted against the brunette, before she spoke to Shibuya, "Please ignore her, senpai. Do you need help with anything? We'd be glad to give tips on how everything works!"

"I'm alright," The male acknowledged Michiru, "I just need to do some basic formatting."

"Oh, alright!" Keiko piped in, after having stared at Mai for a long moment. The air felt tense, as if no more words could come from the conversation.

But then Kazuya seemed to find a subject that was worth discussing, according to the party of three. "I was never told, when and where should I meet you for the next ghost story session?"

"Oh! It's tomorrow, after school. We always meet in our homeroom, 1-F."

"I see," He started to turn, to head elsewhere in the room. "It has grown late. I wouldn't want to keep you any longer than I have already."

It seemed to take time to process, each of the three girls each searching for a clock to tell the time before they proceeded to lose their composures momentarily due to the time that was being shown.

"Oh my-" Saki covered her mouth before she could say any more.

"Is it that late?!" Michiru cried out.

"My mom's gonna kill me!" Keiko gained surprised eyes.

"Thanks for reminding us, Shibuya-san-" Saki began, but Michiru continued the rest for the other girl.

"We'll be going now!"

This led to the speedwalking of the entire crowd to the door, so that they could go and collect their bags before heading home. Nearly leaving Mai behind, she got shocked eyes and hurried over to the others. "H-hey, wait up, you guys!"

She took one last look into the room before it was out of sight. Shibuya was at the teacher's desk, though she couldn't make out what exactly he was doing there. Shaking her head and clearing her mind, her attention went back to the trio before her. Speeding her steps up, she joined the body of females but internally sighed at the topic.

"Wasn't he cute?" Michiru pointed out, a smirk on her face.

"He totally was! Give Keiko a point for mentioning ghost stories." Saki chimed in, also speaking with a huge grin.

"If he's into them like we are, then there's definitely a chance for one of us to snag him!" Keiko had hopped between the two girls, wrapping her arms around each one.

"Eh…" Mai shrugged, "I don't get why you three are all over him."

Michiru snapped her attention to the girl behind the group, eyes sparkling with the intent for confirmation. "Does that mean you're not interested in him, Mai?"

Barely tilting her head to the side, Mai saw they were all staring at her. "No, not really. He's not my type." She wasn't about to admit that she did consider it, just for a moment, when he entered the room. But then his trustworthiness came into question.

The trio cheered in success, as they entered their classroom. Each one went off to their desk and grabbed their bags.

"Mai," Keiko called out to her friend, "do you wanna come out to the front gate with us?"

This made the brunette think, while she grabbed her bag's handle. "Sorry, guys, but it really is getting late. I should get home as soon as I can."

"Awww, okay," Michiru spoke with a sense of disappointment, but understanding.

"Be safe on your way home, alright?" Keiko spoke up, as the girls met back up at the door.

"You know me, I'll be fine!" Mai waved the concern away, smirking.

"If you say so," Saki spoke half-jokingly. However, Mai knew they were all aware that she was more than capable of caring for herself.

They all waved towards one another, and they soon went back to their conversation of the newest hottie of the school, Shibuya. This made Mai smile, exhaling from her nose, and turning around to head towards the other direction. Thankfully, the back door should still be unlocked, so that she could take the back way home, as it was quicker.

Gently rubbing the grip of her bag with her thumb, Mai knew what trial was approaching on her trip home. It was something she wished she didn't need assistance with, since she managed to get by with everything else just fine, but she wasn't able to find herself able to complete the task that was set for her yet. Not without the risk of getting hurt in the process.

This made her look towards the ceiling in thought before the noise of a new material on her shoe rang in her ears. The cracking of concrete that composed the stairwell, as well as the light but noticeable echo that ran through the space. Lacking in decoration and maintaining a sleek aesthetic. It was helpful that she could only weakly hear her friends by this point, as they were also headed downstairs. This was when she pulled something out from the very bottom of her school bag, hidden away from the rest of the world.

A retractable white cane.

Due to not being used to the staircase yet, the size of each step and the rougher material strange to her, she found it better to be careful than for an accident to happen.

**Hey there! I've decided that I'll be trying to post weekly, every Sunday, EST, for this fic! All apologies for the lack of POV mention in the first chapter, I forgot to add it when I submitted the document to be used for a fic at the time. I added the POV, as well as a better way to keep track of the chapters this past Friday! The first chapter was a general POV, and I had assistance in editing it by a good friend of mine. However, from this point forward the chapters will mainly consist of 3rd Person Limited POV, as it is the type of writing I find myself the most comfortable with, and I will be editing it on my own with the help of general opinions by friends.**

**At the moment, the chapters are very similar to canon, due to there being a lack of a need to change much. However, this is going to change soon, and the next chapter, which I already have finished and laying in my documents, is not something seen in canon. I intend to keep up with these mini side stories and extra content in canon events that you don't usually see. **

**A huge thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed this fic so far! It made me really happy to see people enjoying this so much, and I hope to keep it entertaining for everyone reading it. Feel free to send in more reviews as well, if you'd like! As the story progresses and more plot points come up, I'll be sure to answer questions that come up when I can. **


	3. Case 0-3 - Ghost Stories

**3rd Person, Limited, Mai Taniyama**

It was a struggle for Mai to make it up the stairway of her apartment complex that night. The stairs were slippery, due to some children playing in water before running around the halls. She knew because she bore witness to the kids rushing inside, then heard the echo of them laughing and playing as they hurried up the staircase of the complex. The brunette was latched onto the railing with one of her hands, her wrist being the subject of torture by holding her schoolbag. Her other hand was using her cane to figure out which step was the next one she could take. The tapping of the stick echoed gently throughout the small space.

Normally, she would only use the cane at school, when no one was around. It proved to be a useful asset for when she needed to get down the stairs and no one was around to use as a template. Especially when people liked to leave or drop items by accident on occasion, more often than she cared to admit. But the noise of wet shoes running up the steps as she entered the door spooked her enough to use it once more for the evening.

It didn't seem likely for anyone to be coming up the public area for some time, so she assumed she would be safe. All that the student needed to do was get up to the second floor. Even if someone did see her, she had been considered the odd one of the complex, the student living on her own. So she was sure they wouldn't think too much of it.

The tapping noise bounced around, and Mai found herself entranced with the thumping. The honey-eyed female was making light, gentle movements with the cane when she finally had no ground to tap upon. She found the edge of a step, then continued her search to be certain that the landing she was on could be a possible feat for her to complete. When she was able to convince herself that she could take the step onwards, she once again made the sound, searching for the full length of the platform only slightly higher than the one she was currently planted on. It wasn't until then that she would take her step upward, one foot rooting itself on its new temporary home before the other did the same. Her hand moved with the rail and her body, keeping up with her feet and working hand with ease. It all occurs in a matter of seconds, but it always feels like forever to her each time.

The rail ended, and Mai kept her grip on the rest. Warily, she grounded herself on the top step, before slowly removing her hand. This allowed her to retract her cane, and return it where it belonged. Closing her eyes, she took a breath. She knew where she needed to go, but she wanted confirmation that she was in the right place. Growing aware of the floor number, as well as the details of the hall before her, she opened her eyes and started to walk.

Five paces was where the first door was.

Ten led to the second one.

Fifteen fully extended footfalls got her to the entrance she was looking for. Apartment 203, her home. She was made aware that it was the right door, because of the number on it, as well as the doormat she had placed on the ground. Turning her body, her hand reappeared from her bag, revealing a set of keys and a keychain. Fingers gripped the teddy bear-shaped ornament containing the pieces of metal that gave her a chance to be inside her home. She felt the flat portion of each key until she came across the distinct indent that indicated the one that was required, before moving the others aside.

The colliding of metal sounds familiar to the chocolate-haired female, and she twists her hand so that the object mimicked her. A click emitted from the lock, which was her cue to pull out the key and keep it in her hand for the time being. Then, Mai turned the handle and opened the barrier between the outside world and comfort.

"I'm home," She spoke, but she didn't call out as if she was expecting anyone to be inside. The darkness, much like in the audiovisual room, engulfed the space. The only source of light at that moment was the one above the stove. It was weaker than the ceiling lights, but enough to give off a shine in reflections. The orange tint reached areas that almost felt impossible, and it stretched the shadows of the furniture into forms that gave the area warmth, but emptiness. A light dusting covered the furnishings in the living space, inviting someone to wander over and clean them. To sit and interact upon the items that had been without contact for a period of time.

The only reason she had the ability to imagine the scene in her mind was due to the facts she already knew about the apartment. She had left the stove light on that morning, and when she grazed the top of the television stand on her way out, a fine layer of dust made its way onto her fingertips.

The brunette took a couple of steps to get into the entryway while shutting the door behind her. When she heard the click of the latch, her hand instinctively went up and turned the bolt, effectively locking the door all over again. For the duration of silence that seemed to engulf her senses, she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. There was a desire to think over what she needed to do for the evening. She had little reason to wash the clothes tonight, as she had an extra school uniform set side for tomorrow. Leftovers can be warmed up in the microwave instead of going to the effort to cook something, and she already had her lunch made for the next school day. The girl would like to clean her room, if at all possible.

However, the first priority after food and washing the dishes was to finish her homework. It wasn't that she needed help understanding anything, it was only that responding by hand proved bothersome in relation to writing. It was yet another roadblock, albeit a minor one, that proved difficult to her at certain points. There was always the chance that she wrote the results of her mind crunch over other words. Especially when she is attempting to quickly solve the given problems in order to be finished with that subject. It troubled Mai when she made those mistakes and assisted her in feeling as if she required more guidance than she was given.

What she despised about it all the most, was the fact that the feelings she endured were valid.

Opening her eyes and ignoring her mind, she leaned down, setting her schoolbag in front of her body with caution to its location in order to remove her shoes. Whilst straightening herself, fingertips gripped the familiar material that was before her so it would be out of her course to the kitchen.

Her pace was much quicker, compared to the stairwell, or even the hallway. It was a familiar place to her, and she was fairly certain about where the objects in her home were located.

A place where Mai felt free, compared to the rest of the ever-changing world.

The hand that contained the keychain reached up, touching a switch that proceeded to light up the kitchen. She certainly didn't need it, but she was aware that her neighbors tended to make sure that her kitchen light brightened the place up for at least a few minutes. A way to make sure that the girl who lived alone made it home safe.

Silently counting her steps, she wandered over to her fridge and opened it, but not before putting her set of keys and bag on the counter, where she would be able to find them later. Digits grazed the shelves until she came across the one she was looking for, and Mai found the plastic container that would be considered her dinner for the evening. Making sure that the door shut with a thump, her free hand kept in contact with the counter.

Sure enough, she found the microwave. Pressing the bottom right, the door popped open for Mai, welcoming her cool meal to be warmed up. Separating the tupper lid from the body, she turned it at an angle, so that it couldn't vacuum itself back together by the time it was finished. Placing the food inside, she shut the door, before starting to feel the buttons on the piece of machinery.

After a long second, she sighed in defeat, too tired to bother with trying to feel the location of each digit. Closing her eyes, her focus laid on the cardboard that she taped on to offer herself direction. Her memory then kicked in and her fingers gave the input for three minutes before starting the appliance. It made a low humming noise as soon as the button was pushed, guaranteeing her the fact that it was on.

While the microwave was working, her eyes opened and her hand went back to the surface before her, this time catching herself at the sink. Mai had to feel for the faucet momentarily before turning it on. Testing the water, she then proceeded to wash her hands, along with some weak soap. When she was finished, she turned the valve off and used her other hand to reach for her hand drying towel.

As she grabbed the cloth, she noticed a weight on it, and she stopped herself from moving it too much. With caution, she adjusted the container so that it wasn't on top of the material, and opened it. Wiping her hands clean of water, she closed her eyes for a moment, moving her hand until it was directly before her eye. Opening her eyelids, she reached and took out a contact. Gingerly, she placed the item in the case and repeated the process for her second eye in order to shut the case when she was finished.

She still needed to find a time to thank her doctor to let her continue to buy those contacts, despite her mother having been the one to initially put them in her eyes. They have proven to be useful in hiding how cloudy that her irises were from others. She had been told that it seemed like her pupils were enlarged compared to a normal person, but she knew she had no right to complain. It made things easier compared to the eyes she knew she would feel digging into her.

Mai was aware of the irony of her own thought, but the alternative didn't prove to be as much of an annoyance as others would expect. She had two containers in her school bag, and she simply took a cloth and case along with her to the bathroom to exchange them with little issue. Her teachers were aware of her 'visual impairment', however, none of them believed her to be entirely blind due to her effectiveness in schooling.

Only a surgeon from some time in the past, her osteopathic doctor, the principals of her middle and high school, and her landlord was entirely aware of her situation. Others were similar to her teachers, only believing that she had extremely blurry vision, or were completely unaware.

However, her one major hurdle was when she attempts to find a job, in order to seek to keep herself stable without the assistance of her mother's inheritance. They caught sight of her medical records stating visual impairment and rejected her due to the lack of desire to assist with getting her in the loop of the job. It proved making living difficult.

She heard the beep of the microwave, and it caused her to stir her out of her thoughts. Moving the small item in her hands back on the counter, Mai went to the source of the noise and opened the door. Steam erupted as soon as there was the ability to escape, so she gave it all a bit to cool, prior to warily removing the dish. Shutting the door, she placed her meal down for a moment, so she could open a drawer. Retrieving chopsticks, the brunette then claimed her dinner and turned around.

Moving two paces forward, she found the dining table, along with the chair right in front of her. Placing the items down on the table, she repeated her previous movement, in order to return to the counter. Much like previously, her hand grazed the surface, until she reached the refrigerator a second time that evening. When she opened it, she took a water bottle off the top shelf to go with her meal.

With little effort, she made her way back to her food. Pulling the seat out, she allowed herself to sit, placing her bottle to the right. Chopsticks in her hands, she removed the lid that remained on top of her supper and started to poke around in her food. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head forward, holding it up with the arm that decided to go on the slab of wood.

Sometimes, Mai considered herself in her own ghost story. Her apartment filled with nothing but silence, asking for the noise of people and activities to come along. However, that wouldn't happen. It was rare for her to gain visitors, and it was mostly just her landlord. Weakly opening her eyes, her hearing felt numb but accustomed to the calm. As she toyed with a noodle, a thought came to mind. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to leave the apartment early tomorrow, in order to wander would the schoolyard and see the blooming cherry blossoms.

Maybe the birds chirping can satisfy her desperate mind seeking noise.

**So sorry about the initial update showing HTML code. The page seemed fine until I uploaded it, so I went back and quickly fixed everything so it should be alright. I had some responses to reviews written up as well, however, I think I'll leave it for the next chapter to see if I get any more interesting thoughts or questions to answer. **

**I hope everyone has a lovely read.**


	4. Case 0-4 - Ghost Stories

**3rd Person, Limited, Mai Taniyama**

With a yawn, a set of arms stretched upwards into the sky.

Mai had done exactly what she had imagined the night before without too much thought. She woke before her alarm, and there was a voice in the back of her mind that reminded her of the idea of leaving early and catching sight of the blooming trees on her way to school. The girl was tired of the silence and needed a way to get herself excited for the day to come. She had a test and knew that some motivation would assist her in completing it within the expected timeframe. Not because the questions would be hard, but due to the difficulty of seeing them in the first place.

"This feels nice…" She muttered to herself, as she slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze moved a bit upwards, as she imagined the blooming blossoms on tree limbs that were above her. The brunette was aware that she had just seen the outlines of them with her eyes closed, however, she was unsure of the colors, and the further the details were from her, the blurrier they seemed to get. She assumed it was like normal vision, in that respect. No one can see as if they were a camera, with perfect vision for miles on end.

It also didn't help much that she was walking, giving her mind little room to directly pinpoint objects and where they were located. A moving object trying to catch sight of another moving object proved difficult, and there were no chances for retakes for those chocolate shaded eyes.

Shaking her head, Mai placed her hands together behind her back, allowing herself to simply wander about the path that she had found herself on. If she was correct in assuming, this route also led to the back of the school, but it seemed to take longer than her usual trail. It made her wonder long it would've taken her to notice it had she not decided to mindlessly wander that morning.

With a blink, honey eyes gave themselves a chance to readjust to the world around her. A gentle breeze played with her short hair and uniform, which led her to reach up and move her bangs aside. The scent of the blooming petals above gently reached the senses, leaving a calming and pleasant aura with the location. It was hard to hear, however, she did catch the sound of birds chirping in the distance. Likely hidden within the trees, away from the public, where people couldn't find them as easily. In their small world of beauty and peace, compared to the reality that people experience instead.

Parting her lips, Mai found herself attempting to imagine the idea of a bird nest nestled within a tree of cherry blossoms. Shades of pink accompanying the brown branches, which matched the colors of the brown-eared bulbul. It was hard to tell directly what the birds were that she heard, but something in her wished to believe it was that particular breed that she was listening to. The breed that her mother used to adore more than most others.

With a smile on her face, she found herself calm, as she closed her eyes to think for a moment. Yet, from the corner of her vision, she caught sight of a building, which immediately piqued her interest. After all, she had been unaware of the building is where it was. Her focus had always been trying to survive Phys Ed. So, of course, her curiosity would get the better of her. Canceling her thought of taking another step forward, her body turned to the side. Staring for a long moment, she allowed herself another chance to see what was before her, before her mouth opened. The only thought that could come to her was the question of if this was the old schoolhouse. The very same one she had only started to think about the previous night.

From what she could tell, there was the soccer net, followed by protective netting behind it. She assumed it was to keep any stray balls from reaching the older building. Closing her mouth, Mai blinked, allowing herself another look. She held a desire to have a closer inspection, and before she knew it, her feet were carrying her to the older building.

Mai found herself recalling the story and the details that were told during it. How many accidents happened during the attempted demolitions and illnesses that spread among the workers. It made her question the choice of getting closer, however, the interested half of her had the intense desire to simply look, and nothing more. It wasn't as if she intended to enter the building or anything like that. So it wasn't like anything bad could happen.

The closer she got, the more details she could notice. The dirt on the sides, the cracks that remained on one of the pieces of siding. It was hard to make out, but she could notice that some of the windows were damaged as well. It helped reassure her that the place had been left to time. Chestnut locks once again were moved due to the gentle breeze that remained intact, even in the new area.

"Wow…" Cocoa eyes blinked a few times, gazing upwards, and back down the side of the building she found herself on. Yet, her attention caught itself on an object that happened to be on the other side of the large double doors that she found herself in front of. Approaching the glass window that blocked her from properly seeing, Mai realized that the inside was completely deserted. Unsurprising, but it gave her a strange vibe. As if the stories she was told could very well possibly be real, just from looks alone.

"Too bright…" Her lips weakly muttered out, to the point that no one else would be able to understand even if they were close to her. However, the darkness that engulfed the space was enough to help her see the outline of the object that was before the door. Pushing her hands against the glass, she had only intended to get close to the barrier, but she found her nose pressed against it in the end. After closing her eyes and opening them again, her irises shrunk a bit from the sight she saw.

"A camera?..." Mai had instantly asked herself. There was no reason for there to be a camera within those doors. As far as she knew, it was likely that no one was allowed in the building, seeing as they were trying to demolish it previously.

"Hmm…" She found herself pondering over the idea of opening the door and entering the building if only to see if the camera was there intentionally or for good reason. Thinking over the chances she had of getting caught, as well as how much time she believed she had before she would be late for class, Mai found her curiosity overwhelming. "Mmmmmm…"

Pursing her lips, her hand went to the handle, before slowly turning it. With a squeaking noise, the door instantly started to open for her. Gently, she moved the door until she was able to move inside. The noise it was making as she did so, though, felt deafening. Surely, if anyone was in the area, they would be able to hear it. The door needed oiled… Yet again, who knows how long it has remained in that spot, waiting to be taken down along with the rest of the old schoolhouse.

Her hand instinctively released the door as she passed through the threshold that almost felt as if it was life-changing. The squeaking had started once again as the door shut, causing Mai to get shivers. She attempted to catch the door but failed to do so, leaving it to painfully close itself. Flinching from the noise of the door latching, Mai allowed herself a moment to get accustomed to the new surroundings. Nothing more than a simple sweep, until she caught her gaze on what drove her to enter the area in the first place.

Footsteps were the only noise that could be heard for a bit, as the teenage female made her way over to get a closer look at the camera. The closer she managed to get to it, the more details she found herself able to make out after each blink. Thankfully, she had gotten to it without going too far and bumping into the thing. Blinking, she grew surprised at the details of it, quickly realizing that it wasn't something that was meant for beginners.

"It is a camera," Her voice lowered itself, for fear of getting caught, as she spoke to herself, "That's odd… I wouldn't think someone would leave it somewhere like this." She felt concerned about the entire situation. Why would someone leave this here? Wouldn't it prove as dangerous to do so? Was it a student, or someone trespassing the area to put the item there? And why put it in such a noticeable spot? If even she could notice it, then she was certain that other students would as well.

This led to her reaching to touch it, in order to find possible information regarding the owner of the camcorder. However, the very moment before she was able to come into contact, she could've sworn she heard movement off to the side. This made her part her lips, as she turned her head and blinked.

"Who's there?!"

It was a voice that Mai certainly didn't recognize, and she felt her legs start to move from the startling voice. She was quick to assume that it had been from the same form that she caught sight of the same moment. Her steps were wide, and she was instantly hypersensitive. She was heading towards an area that she didn't see before coming closer to the camera.

"I-I'm sorry, I was just-" Chocolate eyes widened when she felt her back against a surface. It was easy to assume that it had been the same person who had set the camera up. But she hadn't expected them to still be in the area, especially since classes were going to start soon enough.

The item she had bumped into- which she assumed was a shoe cubby -moved under her weight, and she felt herself panic. They were big, so one of them could easily crush her small form! Turning her head back, and blinking to try and catch the situation before it took place, a hand made contact with her arm.

Mai supposed that with the conflict at hand, she failed to catch any noise around her. Because given the distance he was from her, he surely had to run towards her, and that wouldn't be a quiet action since the floorboards had to be old. But, with how she felt the shelf and moving, she knew that he would get caught under it. So, she did the only thing she felt she could do.

She grabbed his sleeve as tightly as she could with one of her hands and pulled.

The brunette could feel him joining her in the momentum. It wasn't as much as she would have liked, but it seemed like he wouldn't end up in between the shelf.

As she felt herself hit the ground, she also heard the noise of the wood hitting the floor. With wide eyes, she allowed herself a long moment to lay on her back, and to take a few, deep breaths, to recollect herself. That was a close call! As soon as she was prepared to move, she blinked before she did so. But after what she saw, she only held herself up with her arms, at the very maximum.

The guy was still on top of her, taking a moment to relax. And after risking himself to save her, it was understandable in her eyes. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"What's going on?" A new, but familiar, voice rang in the air, making her tilt her head back towards it, closing her eyes to catch sight of who it was. But she felt surprised to see the same guy that had scared her and her friends to death the night before. Though, if she were to think about it, she did suspect that something was odd about him. Whatever was going on with the camera would probably explain a lot of it.

Her personal space was evacuated, as the other man moved away from her, and standing up. "This girl was about to touch one of the cameras. I heard her and came to investigate, which she then tumbled and fell onto a cubby." He spoke, and Mai was trying to find a time to interject while finding her bag and standing herself. But she wasn't being given much of a chance to do so. "The cubby moved and was about to fall on her, so I pushed her away, but she grabbed me and kept me from injury."

Mai could feel the stares given off by both of them, and a shiver ran down her spine. Why were they looking at her like that? Forcing a smile, a chuckle ran off her lips. "Hehe… I didn't mean to, I swear. But… Um…" She looked towards the one that saved her after a blink. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." The answer was blunt, but it was enough to make the brunette sigh in relief.

"Thank goodness…"

"We met yesterday," The younger one spoke up, and she felt dread fill her nerves, "What's your name?"

There was the desire to not answer him, but she knew, deep inside, that it would prove to be a bad idea, in the long run. "Taniyama…" Her voice was quieter than usual, but the silence that now filled the room made it so that her response was more than clear.

"Well, Taniyama-san, let me offer some advice," Shibuya started, and she felt her curiosity get to her, just a tad bit, compared to earlier regarding the camera. "The school bell just rang, you're late."

Confusion filled her senses for a moment, the girl needing a moment to process what he said. "Eh…. EH?!" Gripping her bag, she was careful with her movements, her eyes opening and closing quickly to try and figure out where she was as she moved. Before she knew it, her feet were moving. Nearly hitting the door on the way out, she was rushing as quickly as she could to the proper school building.

Mai had no idea what that entire situation was, but it was both interesting yet terrifying. Those two were odd, the camera even being there was strange, and the whole thing was just too odd! She didn't want to go back to that place again if she could help it.

**So sorry about the semi-late posting of this chapter! I had it half done until today, due to the holidays and other family events that happened. Now, I believe I promised some responses to reviews? Here we go, in that case!**

_**Chapter 1**_

**_EverlatingRyo:_****I'm a bit confused though. vin chap 1 you made it like Mai can see clearly while in chap 3 it seemed like you were indicating that she was completely blind. I'm just confused. which is it?**

**_MaiumiTaniyama:_**** I sent you a message regarding what I believe is the issue regarding this. I didn't want to post it publically due to it containing spoilers. I hope it helps you better understand what I was going for, though!**

_**Chapter 2**_

**_CaitHawke4Ever:_****I am intrigued. Going to be interesting to see how Mai being blind affects her physic abilities. Glad you are not going to stray to far from cannon. Update when you can. MaiXNaru forever!**

**_MaiumiTaniyama:_**** Thank you for finding interest in my fic! I will say that her blindness will affect her abilities in a few different ways, but I'm not gonna spoil it too much for you, and let it be a nice little set of surprises.**

**_Guest:_****Love it! I love the plot with mai being blind. Can't wait to read more. I wonder if mai will keep it secret from everybody till the end, or if they find out early on. Kinda hoping for naru to know and the others find out later. Looking forward to the next update**

**_MaiumiTaniyama:_**** I think that who finds out when will prove to be very interesting to you. I have a decent idea about how things will go, but you know how it is, muses pick their own paths, and I just write it down for others to enjoy.**

_**Chapter 3**_

**_CaitHawke4Ever: _****I found this chapter very informative. I like how you described Mai getting up the stairs and getting around her apartment. I have a feeling with Mai being blind it is going to heighten her physic abilities.**

_**MaiumiTaniyama:**_ **Thank you! I wanted to try to show off how she is affected more than just what canon shows, and I think her going about her apartment was a good way to do that without spoiling too much. But I'll say for sure, just like before, her abilities are indeed affected by her blindness. In fact, I think it'll do so in a way most, if not all, people won't expect.**

**I think that sums up all the reviews that I wanted to mention and respond to. I'll be back next week with a new chapter in a new perspective! And I'll also be working on a couple of things for the upcoming Ghost Hunt Fanworks event. Some of the prompts made me want to explore a few things, and I hope everyone looks forward to what I have to come up with for the event!**


	5. Case 0-5 - Ghost Stories

**3rd Person, Limited, Kazuya Shibuya**

The girl that was within the old schoolhouse that morning had not only nearly injured Lin but ruined one of their cameras. Noll was more than aware that the camera was insured, but after the incident, and what Lin explained to him afterward, the female caught his interest. She caught Lin's arm in just the right moment to prevent what would've likely been a serious injury, and even the time prior that they met proved to be interesting.

Taniyama-san had the most interesting story out of all the girls when they were speaking of ghost tales. While he was mainly interested in the rumors regarding his investigation site, her story piqued his interest in the moment. It made him question how much she knew in regards to the paranormal, due to how accurate she seemed to be in regards to them in her story. It could even prove her as a valuable asset to the company.

That is, depending on what the principal said about her.

He only hired the best, and he needed to be certain that this girl was worth employing. In order to do that, he had to go to someone who had details about her that other students or even teachers would have about her. Noll also found it fair to report that one of his students broke something of his, just as a precautionary measure, in case anything suspicious was attempted.

Closing his eyes, and exhaling from his nose, the teenager knocked on the door to the office.

"You may enter," The familiar voice from the other side of the door erupted. The same voice of the one who hired him, and made him do research on an area that so far seemed clean of spiritual activity. A voice that proved to be irritating, at best.

In order to get the interaction over with, Kazuya opened the door, her gaze instantly aimed at the desk which held the person in question that he was searching for. And as he expected, he was being stared at as well. Quietly, he entered the room, and shut the door behind him, mentally tense the entire time.

"Ah, Shibuya-san! It's a pleasure to see you," The male spoke, but to Noll, it felt like false words. He seemed less than pleased when he initially found out that he was the CEO. It wasn't the first time it happened, but nonetheless, each time continued to prove to annoy him.

"I wanted to be sure you were aware," Shibuya kept his gaze on the other, as he approached the desk, arms at his sides, "That this morning, one of your students entered the old school building, and as a result, broke one of our cameras that were placed to gather evidence."

"I see…" The elder's hands gently gripped one another, as he thought about it. "Did you gather their name? I can send them here and have them properly apologize if they hadn't done so already."

"There is no need to do that." He seemed surprised, which wasn't too odd to Noll. He supposed it wasn't every day that he heard that someone didn't need repercussions for an act they committed. "However, I am interested in Taniyama-san, and wanted to know what information you could tell me regarding her."

At the mention of her name, the surprise in his eyes increased, which intrigued Kazuya. "Taniyama-san? That's odd… She's usually a quality student of ours." The male in a seat stood, making his way over to a filing cabinet. This caused the other male to take a seat in one of the chairs available for sitting that was on the other side of the desk.

"What makes you praise her so much?" He needed to ask because it wasn't every day that even the principal of a school was able to recall their students by name. So, in that case, she had to be special, in some form.

"She has some of the best grades for her year, and has proven that she is ahead of her classes." He spoke, as he made his way back to his seat, with the file he had been searching for. "She could skip a year or two had she chosen to, however, she stated that she wanted to stick with children her age, which is understandable."

Opening up the file, he started to read it, as if he was searching through what he could and couldn't say in regards to his student. "Taniyama Mai-san is a first-year and attended the junior school not too far away from here previously. When I was looking at her application to attend this school, I was initially surprised at her scores despite what her medical notes stated."

What he said was enough to more than interest Noll, which could be seen simply by the slight difference in his eyes. If anything, he would have to take careful notes about this conversation once it was over and look them over. "What do her medical reports state?"

His lips pursed for a moment before he looked up at the one he hired. "Taniyama-san is visually impaired in both eyes. However, it seems that she has grown used to the impairment and doesn't only manage her life, but thrives within it. She is certainly one of the students I've had that I'm sure to remember for a long time because of this."

"I see." Kazuya put a hand to his chin for a moment. A girl that managed to live so normally despite an visual impairment. He wasn't given details on the exacts regarding what this impairment was, but he wondered if she would still be able to do basic tasks despite it. "Is there anything else that you could mention about her that may be of importance."

This time, the pause was longer, as was expected. However, the next thing he said come as a shock to the teenager. "Taniyama-san does not have a parent or guardian. She lives on her own with a fixed income granted by the government."

It took everything in Kazuya to not seem too surprised, however, his pupils had momentarily shrunk at the words. It felt oddly familiar, in a sense. But he needed to be certain before he assumed that what he said meant what he thought it meant. "Are you implying that Taniyama-san has no living family members?"

"Unfortunately, yes. She does have a grandmother, but she is on the other side of Japan and is unfit for travel. As a result, Mai decided to care for herself as to not burden her remaining family member. That isn't to say that she's had an easy time doing that, however." His gaze moved away from Kazuya, as he shut the file. "Considering her disability, it has proven difficult for her to find a job to support herself with."

Noll didn't have to think too much about the difficulties that Mai had to deal with. Living on her own and hoping to find a job willing to accept her despite her disability, that was also willing to work with her school schedule. "And as for the school, how flexible would you be willing to be for the sake of her getting a job to support herself with?"

"Because of her advanced knowledge despite her grade, and knowing that she would be able to keep up without much issue, I'm sure that rules could be bent for her as a special case. The school board has already considered the issue and if it assists her, we would be willing to exempt her from classes when need be. It is simply the issue of her finding a job that is willing to take her in." That was when things seemed to click, as he snapped his gaze towards the young CEO. "Does that mean you would be willing to offer her one, Shibuya-san?"

"Potentially," Kazuya stood from his seat, "If she proves herself. For now, however, it would be appreciated if you could keep this conversation a secret from her."

"I can't refuse her if she asks directly, however, I can assure you that it isn't very likely for her to do that."

"Of course." He responded. "Thank you for your time, I'll be returning to the location of the case to continue investigating."

"It's no problem, Shibuya-san." The other also stood, so that he could put the file he pulled out away. "I wish the best of luck to you in regards to figuring out what is happening in the old schoolhouse."

Noll wasn't dumb, he could hear the tone in his voice. There was something he was hiding from him. However, he wasn't particularly in the mood to ruin his curiosity in regards to Taniyama-san. He also needed to tell Lin of his plans, and he was certain that the conversation between him and himself would be enough to cause a headache at some point. And seeing as he would prefer to get her evaluated as quickly as possible, he realized that he needed to talk to Lin first and let him know of the situation.

Exiting the room, and being certain to shut the door, Noll looked towards the nearest exit and started to walk towards it. He was thankful that class had started, or else he would have females all around him, trying to ask him questions and such. It was never anything he was interested in, all he had a desire to do was to solve mysteries regarding the paranormal, among more important things. His lips thinned as her gaze sharpened at the thought of his true goal while within Japan.

Thankfully, it was sooner rather than later that he found his way not only outside, but back at the old schoolhouse. He had managed to catch Lin at just the perfect time, it seemed. He was about to unload the equipment, and this exact situation he was thinking of for an initial test required that the equipment was still in the van. "Lin."

The male paused in his process of getting the first of the boxes needed for base, in order to turn to his superior. "What did you learn, Noll?"

"Nothing too important, in regards to the case, however…" Kazuya picked up his notebook and pen, instantly starting to take notes at a rapid pace. "I did find more information in regards to who exactly broke the camera."

This made Lin sigh, closing his eyes and leaning against the van. "What do you plan to do, then?"

The way he responded only caused Noll to smirk, already knowing where this was headed. "I plan to employ her to SPR."

"Are you insane?!" Lin snapped, glaring at Noll, "We aren't doing this to stay here, Noll. And even if we were, that would be risking it all, having an outsider join the company."

"I agree, it would be a risk," Kazuya turned to the next, blank page, still writing notes, "However, she seems knowledgeable enough regarding the paranormal to be taught, and I was told that she is in search of a job."

Lin took a breath, suddenly becoming semi-aware that there was more to things than he was being told. "What's the real reason?"

Noll's smirk went away due to the comment, and he snapped his notebook shut. "I would be in need of an assistant if you were to get injured, much like what nearly occurred this morning."

"Noll…" Lin sharpened his gaze towards the younger male. "While that is true, that wouldn't be enough to warrant this type of action from you."

Noll's gaze latched onto Lin's, before he sighed, aware that it would only continue until he finally caved. "The girl, Taniyama Mai, is visually disabled within both eyes." It was obvious from the silence that what was said managed to hit Lin hard. He had his soft spots, but they were hard to make obvious. "She also lives on her own, and her only family member is unable to care for her." The superior then gazed towards Lin. "I think it would be wise to give someone with so little help some assistance, wouldn't you agree?"

There was a long moment of silence. The only noise to fill the air had been the light breeze which gently shook the trees until the bell rang at the nearby school.

"You will be the one to inform Martin." Lin finally spoke up, averting his gaze.

"I am well aware of this, Lin." Noll closed his eyes, "I would also prefer if you were to return to the office for the day to fix the budget to add an additional employee with modest pay."

"You know I can't leave you alone-"

"I won't be alone, Taniyama-san will be with me."

Lin put a hand to his head, irritated, but caving in. Just what Noll wanted. "Fine, but I'll be here tomorrow onwards, and I want you to call me the moment something happens, understood?"

"I understand." It was more of a mindless response from Noll, simply to get Lin off his back. His gaze moved towards the school. He assumed it would be wise to go now in order to tell Taniyama about her new situation. "I'll be back by midnight."

"Call me if you'll be late." Lin moved off the van and grabbed his coat. It seems that he was willing to go much more peacefully then Noll intended. But it was a good thing. Noll wanted to learn about this girl without any interference.

"I will." Noll set his pen and notebook down, in the back of the van, and started to walk back towards the school. The two silently parted, and Noll started to make his way to Taniyama Mai's classroom, thanks to the conversation he had with her friends the evening before.

He hoped it wouldn't be too much of an annoyance.

**I promised a new perspective, and I hope I delivered it! This will be the first of many that'll leave Mai's perspective and will add more information compared to what canon tells us. I plan for the next one to be the chapter after the next, so I hope everyone will look forward to that!**

**I have a total of five stories planned for Fanworks week! Two are one-shots, one is a multi-chapter that the theme will be in the first of, and two are in general multi-chapters. Depending on the amount of interaction I get with them, they might end up longer than intended, but overall, I also have two long term projects stored away that I wish to get to someday. Until these stories start to release, I hope you don't mind just having this story to satisfy your Ghost Hunt needs from me.**

**Edit: I have no idea why the code likes to act up as it does. I once again fixed the page so that it is readable. I'll keep seeing what I can do to fix this.**


	6. Case 0-6 - Ghost Stories

**3rd Person, Limited, Mai Taniyama**

The moment that her final class ended, Mai had been quick to start packing her things into her school bag. After what happened that morning. With promises that seemed to be made between her friends. Then the guy that walked in on her nearly injuring someone... She didn't want to risk anything. Not with him, that other guy, or the old schoolhouse. She knew it was best to hurry out of the classroom, leaving the idea of telling ghost stories despite her best one yet planned in her mind.

As she put her notebook in her bag, she heard Keiko speak up, "Mai, are you going home early?"

Michiru continued Keiko's thoughts, "Don't you remember, we have that hot senior, Shibuya-senpai, joining us. Don't you want to see him again too?"

Mai took a breath, as she closed her eyes and shut away her things. "No, not really."

"Don't you want to see him smile again, though? It was so handsome!" Saki asked, seeming genuinely curious yet excited for the possible interaction.

Like before, Mai found herself wondering if her friends would survive if something bad happened to them by a dangerous but handsome man. Averting her gaze in disinterest, she heard her friends talking about Shibuya, and she assumed that letting them go on and remain distracted was the best way to escape their clutches.

Suddenly, there was another voice in the room. "Excuse me…"

All the other females turned towards the new voice, including Mai, who had to blink to realize just who it was. The frames around her eyes and hairstyle made it obvious, as she was one of few girls to have such a look. And she was certainly the only one with that type of voice.

Kuroda…

Keiko was the one to talk, but Mai hadn't given herself the chance to look towards the group. However, just from the time of voice, she assumed that Keiko was at least a bit nervous. "O-oh, Kuroda-san, we were just leaving…"

"I know, I heard you," Her crossed arms stiffened in place as she responded, "What were you planning to do?"

Suddenly, to Mai, the place felt tense. Slowly, her gaze moved towards the females behind her, and she allowed herself a chance to take notice of the situation. They seemed nervous… Which she had little idea as to why, but it seemed silly.

Looking back towards Kuroda, unfazed by the tense feeling she had, she gave the truthful answer. "We're just gonna go tell ghost stories, is all." Her head barely tilted at the thought. "Is there a problem with that?"

"G-ghost stories?!" Kuroda had widened eyes, trying to process what was just said, while Mai gave a blank face towards her. As if it really was no issue to be doing what was considered a hobby.

During the staring war, there was knocking on the doorframe into the classroom. Mai didn't want to look that way, as this conversation was between herself and the other directly staring at her.

However, the voice had instantly made her turn and look towards it. "Is Taniyama-san here?"

Mai's face drained of color from the familiar-sounding male, and her friends, at the very least, quietly squealed about his arrival. This was the last thing the brunette wanted. She wanted to hurry out and head home, not this. Certainly not this. And considering he asked for her, she knew, deep inside, that he was going to want to speak to her.

"Who are you," Kuroda asked, "and what are you doing here?"

"I'm just here to meet with these ladies," Kazuya responded, allowing himself to enter the room. Mai gently gripped her bag as she did so, feeling the tension seem to grow over time.

"To do what, tell ghost stories?" Kuroda's full-on pointed glare moved to the male, relieving Mai of the burden of the dark look.

"Yes." He offered Kuroda a similar look to the one he gave Mai that morning, and the brunette swore that she felt a shiver go through her body.

That shaking foreshadowed the snap of attention to herself and her friends. She could've sworn her face paled and turned into one of dread. The simple way that Kuroda was looking at them made Mai wish she wasn't in the conversation, or at least, she didn't mention ghost stories previously.

"I thought I told you to stop with that! No wonder I've had a headache since I arrived at school today." Kuroda put a hand to her head, and the dread Mai had turned into realization and slight annoyance. Something told her that she knew where this was headed. "I'm very sensitive to spirits, so when they gather I get terrible headaches. I've had one all day, so there must be spirits around."

Mai was unamused, and she found herself blankly staring at Kuroda. Michiru, Keiko, and Saki all looked at one another.

"Oh, she started it…"

"Mai really knows too much about this subject..."

But let's be honest, Mai is rarely wrong about these things."

"Kuroda-san," Mai picked her bag up from off the table, "If you're so sensitive to spirits, I'd think that you would've done the research and figured out a way to get rid of those headaches."

"Excuse me?!" Kuroda snapped, her hands curling into fists, but she refused to move from her spot.

"You've been saying this for a while, so it's not new to you. Even if you don't have strong psychic abilities, you could at least go to someone who does to get talismans that block presences, or at the very least go to the nurse's office to get medication for the headaches." Mai shrugged at the thought.

"W-well," Kuroda stammered back, "Talismans and medication can't hide the bigger spirits that come around from me! And since you're telling your little ghost stories attracts smaller spirits, bigger spirits come, and then even bigger ones do. Then there's trouble!"

Mai found herself sighing at the accusation, her free hand going onto her head, "I can confirm that that's usually not the case unless the story is accurate in describing a death that occurred on the property. And even if we did attract spirits that were not originally here, that would require some psychic ability or actual summoning, which we aren't doing." The brunette looked back at the other three. "Keiko, Michiru, Saki, are any of you psychic and didn't tell me?"

"N-no, I'm not!"

"Not as far as I know, Mai."

"Uh-uh."

Mai then looked back towards Kuroda. "And I'm not psychic myself, so..."

The braided-haired female glared at Mai with a look Mai was sure she hadn't seen on her before. "You're attracting the spirits from the old school building here!"

"The old school building?" Kazuya stepped into the conversation, "What spirits from the old building are you sensing?"

Kuroda looked over towards Shibuya, the look on her face not as dark as before, but still seeming like she was annoyed. "Victims from the war, obviously."

"Oh." Kazuya seemed somewhat curious, "Which war?"

"World War Two, obviously." Kuroda gained a sense of seriousness in her eyes, "I've seen nurses, doctors, and bandaged patients in there. I'm certain that it used to be a hospital."

Mai tried to keep herself quiet, as she knew she had no place to speak in this conversation, but the assumption that there was a hospital there made her mention it. "If that building was involved in the war, I would've thought that the school would have mentioned it in the pamphlet we were given on the first day of school. After all, it said some pretty small details about the area that even I never knew about."

"Possibly, in that case," Kazuya seemed to mindlessly think, as he put a hand to his chin, "Maybe there was a medical school there instead?"

Mai wanted to object against that as well, being well aware that there wasn't, but Kuroda intervened before she could, "H-how am I supposed to know anything about that?! All I know is what I sense, nothing else! Those who aren't psychic wouldn't understand."

"Well, if you're having problems with the spirits, why don't you simply exorcise them with your own ability, then?" Kazuya asked.

But before Kuroda could answer, Keiko spoke up, "Um, excuse me, Shibuya senpai… Can I cancel the storytelling tonight?"

Saki also popped into the conversation, "Yeah, I don't really feel in the mood for it anymore…"

"That's alright," Kazuya answered, "Perhaps another time, then."

Kuroda seemed triumphant of her win, but then Shibuya called out, "Oh, and, Taniyama-san?"

Mai blinked, looking back over towards the door, "Yes?"

"Can I speak to you for a moment?" He asked Mai.

And the teenager felt dread again. She really didn't want to, but she could already feel the stares. Not only from her friends, who were muttering to themselves to the point that she couldn't tell what they were saying, but also Kuroda who was giving off a pointed glare., But she was trying to ignore that one more than the other ones. Finally, she gave in with a defeated sigh, "S-sure…"

Begrudgingly, she made her way over to the door, in order to follow him out into the hall. She assumed that Kuroda and her friends would talk for a couple of minutes, but Kazuya ended up leading her to a completely different hallway possibly as a precaution. She was slightly grateful for it, because she didn't want them to know about the incident that morning.

Finally, after some time, he came to a stop. It caused Mai to do the same. Suddenly, he spoke, "Is she a classmate of yours?"

Mai perked up, staring with surprised eyes before responding to her, "Well, yeah. But the only thing we've really talked about was the fact we tell ghost stories… She's a bit strange if I'm being honest," Then again, so was she…

"I question her credibility…" The male put a hand up to his chin, seeming to go into a bit of thought about the situation. "Could she really have psychic abilities?"

"I mean…" Mai muttered, "She says she does, but…" Shaking her head, she snapped out of the topic. "N-never mind that, is your friend alright?" She knew she shouldn't mention it, but she really was concerned about that all day.

"Oh, yes," Kazuya turned around, looking at Mai with a lack of emotion in his eyes, "I wanted to speak with you regarding that incident as well, Taniyama-san."

"O-oh… Really?" Mai pointed at herself as she asked, getting a nervous smile on her face.

"Yes," He spoke bluntly, "The shoe cupboard broke one of our cameras."

Mai's face lost any sense of color when that was said. Did he mean the camera that she was going to check out in the first place? It looked pretty technical… "E-eh? You're blaming that on me? Your boss was the one to startle me and make me bump into the shelf!"

"He isn't my boss," He replied, "I'm the boss, and he's my assistant."

Mai blinked, staring at the other with a shocked look on her face. She wasn't able to believe that… This guy was the boss of someone so much older than him?!

"Regardless, you went inside the building despite the rules against it." Kazuya looked back towards Mai, and she swore she felt herself shrink in place. "Considering the situation, I would like the expense of my camera paid back to me."

"W-what? Cameras aren't that expensive, are they?!" Mai snapped, glaring at the other while feeling her body shake in slight fear.

"This one was one thousand man yen, and custom made from Germany. It would cost several months of salary to pay off."

"N-no way…" The brunette muttered to herself, trying to think of a way to pay it back, only to get even more frustrated with herself. That would be the last of the money in the bank, and then some… "There's gotta be some way…"

His gaze locked onto hers, as she felt tears burn in the corner of her eyes. She didn't know what to do… It was so much money…

"There is another way." He stated, which made Mai snap out of it, looking up at him with widened eyes.

"R-really?!" She hoped he wasn't kidding because she didn't know what else she could do.

"You could become my assistant for a time, in order to pay back the expenses."

Mai blinked, staring dumbly as Kazuya. She was unsure if she heard him right. "Assistant?... So I would be working for you ?..."

"Did you not hear me?" That made Mai glare at the guy, but she was aware of her situation.

There was no other choice in the matter. She didn't have the money to pay for the camera, and she didn't have a job to pay it back with, even in payments.

"It was a suggestion, however, you could always simply pay me back-"

Mai interrupted him, snapping out. "I'll gladly be your assistant!" She knew the issues she would have if she didn't. He didn't seem like the nicest guy, but she needed to pay him back somehow. In the end, it was indeed her own fault that the camera broke.

The way he grinned at her made the girl nearly lose it. But she knew better than to retort with a smart remark. Not when he was basically giving her a get out of jail free card. "S-so, um… What were you doing there anyway?"

"Ghost hunting," Kazuya responded in English.

Mai put up a hand to her ear, to make sure she heard correctly. She had no idea what that meant.

"In other words," He continued, "I find the cause of psychic phenomena and eliminate the issue for clients, as a part of Shibuya Psychic Research Center."

"Psychic Research?" Mai parroted back, "You mean like a science lab?" The girl noticed his growing frustration and curled back.

"Kind of," He stated, "You'll figure it out soon enough." Kazuya then started to walk, which made Mai start up again.

"U-um…" Mai muttered to herself, before raising the volume of her voice, "What's your position in this company?"

He snapped back toward her, which made her freeze in place. "I'm the president of the company."

Mai parted her lips, stuck where she was for the longest time. The president, at that age? It wasn't until he was nearly out of sight when she snapped out of it and ran forwards, to catch up to him.

What did she get herself into?

**I'm backkk. So sorry for the late upload, I was out on Saturday (when I intended to write this chapter) and asked a friend to look at it when I was finished as well. I'm currently working on more content for Fanworks Week, so I hope that I can get something else completed by the end of this week. The next chapter will also have more content not usually seen in the series, in (once again) a new character's perspective. I hope everyone is ready for more content from me, as I'm more pumped up than ever to get content out there for the world to see.**


	7. Case 1-1 - Old Schoolhouse

**3rd Person, Limited, Lin Koujo**

A sigh escaped the Chinese man's lips, a hand going to his head. The day's events have been much more energetic than usual. Considering his job was a mixture of babysitting and 'ghost hunting', as the one he was watching called it, he knew that it was saying something. Despite Noll usually not saying much, and always going right to the point, there were the occasions of other, outside factors coming in. It seems that this time, it was a teenage girl that managed to gain the boss's sympathy which was the outside factor.

Momentarily, he had pondered over the possibility of Noll having gained some connection with the female, as it seemed as if he went out of his way to likely obtain the information he did. However, that was easily discarded, as his points were logical. The decision he made, however, wasn't what he would usually do.

And he was sure that Luella would be ecstatic, however, Martin… That would be a different story. He loathed the call he would be forced to make to BSPR about the situation. The male could hear Madoka already… Trying to hold back a laugh as he explained. A sigh escaped his lips before a small smile formed.

Perhaps this would give enough of a reason for Madoka to come by, at some point, which would be nice. She was peppy, but a good person. Perhaps too energetic and accidentally slipping up, but still retained a good heart and a want to help others when she can. That much he was more than aware of, and it was partly why he grew attached to her over the years.

Things recently, however… Went downhill with Eugene's disappearance. He expected it to take a blow to the woman, it affected everyone that knew him directly. Oliver, Martin, Luella, the other BSPR workers were always excited to see him at the start of the day before work began. Other than the direct family members, however, it felt like Madoka was the one to take the largest blow.

After all, she had been the one to not only suggest the trip to the twin, but she was also the one to convince Luella to let him go on his own, without anyone else. That, along with the consideration of having children themselves, as the twins were growing up and Madoka craved more children in her life, really hurt her and he knew it. Since then, there was barely any talk regarding their relationship, and all he knew he could do was wait patiently. Even if it hurt himself knowing there was little he could do other than continue what he was doing now, in Japan.

Perhaps Gene was indeed alive, somewhere…

He had the same hopes as everyone else regarding his status. However, much like Martin, he was also aware of the chances of Noll's abilities failing him were. It wasn't very likely, especially when he was deeply connected with Gene. So hopes were high but the reality was obvious in its own ways…

Moving his chair away from his budgeting of the SPR Lin took a moment to clear his thoughts, knowing the time in London meant that he would be able to call Madoka and she would answer without issue. After a deep breath and letting his muscles relax, he reached for the cellphone on the desk. Taking the phone off sleep mode, the lock screen held a photo of himself and Madoka. Perhaps he was a bit on the stoic side, but he recalled how happy he was that day.

The memories almost made him lose track of thought, however, he unlocked the phone and went to his contacts. It took a bit of scrolling to reach the name he was searching for, and he hesitated for a moment. Was he really ready to deal with what was going to happen on the other side of the line? It would end up happening either way, for if he were to tell anyone else, they would tell her, then she'd call him instead.

Huffing through his nose at the thought, he pressed call and put the phone to his ear. After the automated rant regarding international calls ended, the ringing began. He wondered how many pauses it would take for the woman to answer the phone. Perhaps it would just a few, or more. Lin assumed it would depend on what she was doing at the moment. She should be getting ready to go into BSPR, so he hoped it wouldn't be too much of a wait.

He didn't realize the amount of time that passed before he heard noise on the other side of the line. He assumed it wasn't that long, considering that Madoka wasn't instantly apologizing.

"Lin!" A cheerful voice screeched.

The male moved the phone away for just a moment, before putting it back to his ear. "You don't have to yell, Madoka."

"I know, but it's been so long! You should've video called me!" She exclaimed, a sense of disappointment threaded in her words.

"I'm a bit busy at the moment," Lin smirked as he spoke, "But next time I'll be sure to do that." If he were to be fair, there was more of a reason why he didn't do that this time… Not that he would ever admit it to anyone.

"You better…" The older female pouted for a moment, before continuing. "Oh, we conducted a new experiment with one of the mediums the other day, I wish you were here to see it! We managed to get some really great data, Noll would've loved it."

"I'm sure he would've," He responded, "He always enjoys more data. The more, the better."

"How is that going over there, anyway? Are you getting anything new compared to previous results so far?" Madoka asked.

"A bit, yes. All the data is unique compared to the west, it had captured Noll's interest much more than I expected it to." He was spending a good amount of time researching the data, as well as looking for ideal locations to search. Lin was more than glad that he was falling back on something else than the hyper fixation of finding his brother. It would let him remain more stable about the situation in the long run, he felt.

"That's great." Lin could've sworn he saw Madoka smile before her as she spoke. She truly did seem relieved regarding Noll. He knew she was worried about him, and hated that she couldn't come along. Or, at least, come to stay. "It's good that he's found more to focus on…"

Lin instinctively nodded at the comment, aware that Madoka couldn't actually see him. "I agree, it's a good thing…"

His gaze slowly moved to his laptop, the file he created for the new budget sitting on the screen. He knew that Madoka needed to see it before it could be accepted into the system. And she was going to ask about the change… Closing his eyes and taking a breath, he leaned forwards, starting to send it to the woman's fax.

"I need you to approve something for me when you get to the office, as quickly as possible."

"Oh?," The interest in her voice instantly sparked, and Lin prepared himself for the questioning. "What needs to be approved?

He paused for a moment, in thought of how to respond. "Some budget reconstruction. It isn't much, however, Noll would prefer it to be completed soon. Within the next few days, at the latest. But it would be wise to simply get it out of the way early instead of letting it wait."

"I'll take a look as soon as I get to the office. Afterward, I'll let Martin take a look, too." Then there was the sudden noise of confusion. "Hold on, why do you need something like that, Lin? I thought the budget was fine. We even left a good portion of it for tea, too."

Running a hand through his hair, Lin sighed loudly enough for it to go through the call. "Noll made a decision I question heavily."

"A decision, what kind?"

"He intends to hire someone fairly soon," Lin spoke, "And I don't believe there is no way to change his mind regarding it."

"Eh?" There was a bit where nothing seemed to happen before Madoka continued. "What kind of person managed to get him to decide to do something like that? That's gotta be someone pretty amazing."

"Apparently, she's an orphan," He was sure that was all that needed to be said, however, he continued, "With a visual impairment. My assumption is that he felt pity for her and wanted to assist her in some way."

"I see, poor thing… Wait," There was a sudden sense of excitement in her voice, "He took interest in a girl?! Oh my god, Luella is gonna freak when she finds out about this! He actually looked at a female in some new light, that's amazing!"

Lin found himself chuckling, tilting his head. "Please make sure Luella doesn't rant to Noll about it, or else I'll never hear the end of it."

"But a girl, Lin! A girl! There's no way she would be able to keep quiet about that!"

"I thought so…" Lin tapped at his keyboard for a moment, before moving the mouse on screen and clicking. "I sent the suggestion, it'd be wonderful if you could have it done by tomorrow."

"I'll get it done by this afternoon! Martin can't say no if it's for something like this, even if it is a little risky." He swore she was bouncing in place from the happiness in her system. He thought this would cheer her up.

Not only would it be helpful to Madoka to know Noll is alright for now, but he was sure it would help Luella and Martin as well. Luella, certainly. She has been patiently waiting for Noll to notice a female for quite some time. Martin was harder to realize, as he was one of science and research, but it could be said that he cared about his children. He was sure he'll be somewhat relieved as well that he would get some human interaction that wasn't silence.

"Thank you, I'm sure he'll appreciate it as well."

"Of course," Madoka cheered happily, "Alright, I'm ready to go! I better hurry over so I can get this done early, then I can call Luella and let out all the details!"

He expected as such… "Alright… And, Madoka?"

"Yeah?"

Lin smiled as he responded, "I love you."

"I love you too, dear." She said those words with such a gentle tone, Lin thought that he might've actually flustered due to it for a moment. "I'm hanging up now, bye!"

"Bye."

The next thing he knew, the call had ended, and the automated voice returned. Ending the call on his side as well, the first thing he did was place the phone down, in order to shut the laptop. His gaze moved to the clock in the room, and he pondered over his next choice for the time being.

There was nothing else for him to do for the day. He was certain he would get more tomorrow, along with the post-case details once the current one was over, but for the time being, he found that he had some extra time on his hands. Moving away from the desk, he stood and stretched.

There were few choices on what he could actually do. He didn't want to leave the room, however, there was little he could do in the room itself. Other than reading off his tablet, watching the television, or conducting his own, personal research, he didn't have much that only he could do. He knew that meditation was a must, as per usual, but what else was there to entertain him? A long moment of thought passed until he came to the conclusion.

Perhaps, instead of doing anything, he would simply rest, instead.

**Hellohello! Here I be with exactly what I promised. A new chapter with a new perspective. Lin here is stuck with the task of telling Madoka of the change happening within SPR's walls, while also dealing with their relationship issues. Poor Lin, honestly. At least he gets to relax without injury, right?**

**LinxMadoka is a ship I personally enjoy and something I don't see all that often? So I hope to write it out a bit here with phonecall segments on occasion involving these two. It also helps flesh out Lin as a person and I really enjoy doing that. This just barely hit my word goal of 2k per chapter, so sorry about the lack of words. But I do hope it's something that everyone can enjoy!**


	8. Case 1-2 - Old Schoolhouse

**3rd Person, Limited, Mai Taniyama**

Mai found herself outside the school near one of the benches that were scattered about the grounds. Before her, was the guy that was suddenly her boss for who knows how long, taking a seat on the mentioned bench. The brunette tilted her head in slight confusion, putting her hands behind her back so she could intertwine them without seeming too odd for doing so. Kazuya placed his arms before himself before he looked at Mai. The expression was familiar, and she nearly shivered at the thought. There was little to no desire to recall the fact that she nearly injured his assistant.

"A week ago, your principal contacted us and proceeded to hire us in order to investigate the old school building on the grounds. There were rumors within the student body that the location was haunted, and along with the countless accidents that seemed to occur within, it prompted him to go to a professional in order to gage an opinion." Kazuya stated, as he opened his bag and pulled something out. It was hard for Mai to tell what it was in the moment, but it was a machine of some sort.

"The student body…" Mai muttered, in thought before perking up, "Is that why you said you transferred to this school?"

"I'm glad to know that you aren't lacking in competence." He responded. The way he did so irritated Mai a bit, but she continued on with her reply.

"Nice to know I can satisfy the great lord…" She muttered to herself, before speaking up, "So you were trying to get information about the schoolhouse, then? There was mention of it last evening, after all."

"Exactly," The male said, looking over towards her, "However, I couldn't hear the conversation that well, so a retelling of what your classmate said would be appreciated."

"O-oh, well, Michiru said-"

"Hold on," Kazuya cut her off, lifting the machine up. Now it was more obvious to her what it was. It had to be a recorder, and he seemed to click the button that was likely to record the conversation. "Start."

Mai pursed her lips for a moment, curiosity taking over for a moment, but she allowed herself to recall the story as it was told. "Well… Apparently, a lot of strange things have happened before the place was closed down. Strange fires and deaths. A student died on the first floor one year, and another, a teacher committed suicide on the second floor. When the school closed down, sometime later, they found a child under the floorboards." The teenager thought about it all for a moment, slightly uncomfortable as she shifted her body and moved her gaze away. "When demolition started, the people doing it grew ill or in accidents that were hard to explain. Some of the equipment even stopped working for good. They went to tear down a wall, the roof collapsed and took out the workers on the first floor, stopping demolition. When they tried again, similar things happened. One of the trucks carrying rubble went into the volleyball court, and it eventually stopped again. And there's talk of students seeing things through the winders, including an upperclassman that Michiru seems to know when she was walking home one day."

She paused for a moment, before shaking her head gently. "That's all I was told, but I have heard other things before. I never think too much about it, though. It's just rumors, just like any other school." Though, she could admit the rumors themselves were odd…

The recorder was turned off with the click of a button. She found herself glad that the silent tense aura was gone, now that she wasn't under the surveillance of the device. "So, ah… How much of all that do you think is true?"

Kazuya went back to his bag, putting the recorder back in and instead pulling out a folder. When he opened it, Mai unconsciously peeked in and looked at the notes. It was hard for her to tell but… They seemed to be in another language. She couldn't figure out which language, but it was certainly not Japanese. Mai found herself silently impressed at the knowledge of another language fluently enough to be able to write it out so extensively.

"It is true that there were many deaths within the building. There used to be a consistent one to two deaths a year on campus." He spoke the information casually enough to cause Mai to be unnerved by it. "It is also true that the roof fell in during the demolition. This was as they were removing the west wing. However, there were no deaths during the incident."

"E-eh?" Mai found herself slightly dumbfounded by the information. "Really? That seems like a dangerous situation, though…"

"There were five injured, but no deaths were reported during any demolition of the building. This was usually due to human error, and nothing spirit related."

"I see…" Mai muttered, glad that it seemed that no one died during those incidents. It would feel odd to be going to school so close to a building where people died, after all…

"Demolition went as scheduled, and a third of the building was taken down. Since then, however…" He seemed to go silent for the longest time, before he continued, "As this was six years ago, the body of a dead child was recovered from the building between the two demolitions. A seven-year-old who lived in the neighborhood was kidnapped for ransom. After the body was found, the criminal was caught and prosecuted a month later."

The brunette froze up in the realization that there was death imprinted on the building. It was something that was unavoidable, but it still brought a sense of dread, knowing that there was such a link on the location.

"It is also true that a teacher committed suicide," He seemed to turn the page of his file, which once again drove Mai's curiosity, however, she was moreso focused on the conversation. "He suffered from neurosis, and a note was found explaining his actions."

The entire situation, knowing that such events happened dampered Mai's attitude for a moment, but she still found herself impressed by the research done to find this information. "Impressive… That's some decent research." She was aware of this because she did such things for her own stories. They both did it for different reasons, but they still needed the information for some reason or another, in the end.

"This is nothing, don't underestimate my research abilities." He said, rather bluntly.

It hit Mai in the chest harder than she expected, but she was indeed annoyed by this point. "So what about the out of control truck then?" A paper was offered to her, and she took it without much thought. Her eyes widened at the article before her. It still took time to read the fine print, but the headline was obvious to her. Daytime high school tragedy… The reason she didn't know about it was likely because she wasn't looking at the news for a while when she first started to live on her own.

Mai quickly tried to read the print, but only caught splotches of information at a time. Truck full of bricks… Volleyball court… Gym class… Nine injured… Two died… Driver was intoxicated…

Before she could read anymore, Kazuya spoke, "The demolition had to discontinue due to this accident. However, some speculation was that it also had to do with the rumors that were spreading regarding it."

As she stared at the two images that were shown of the students who passed, her heart started to ache. They felt familiar to her, for some odd reason. She couldn't pinpoint where she saw them before, as much as she wanted to…

"However, despite these events, I fail to believe that the rumors regarding the location are true. Others may have come to the conclusion that the building is cursed, but each accident has a reasonable explanation to go along with it." As he spoke, Kazuya started to stand from the bench as well as taking the paper from her hands. She assumed that he was using it to file away for a later time if he was as professional as he seemed.. "I believe that this investigation will not offer any spiritual activity."

"Really?..." Mai wondered if this could possibly mean that she could sneak her way to freedom from helping him, then. If there was no activity to be recorded, as far as he knew, there was no reason to need help. "So, um…" As she started to ask, she noticed that he looked over towards her, while starting to walk onwards. She expected that he thought she would follow without a complaint… "Do I really have to help you out, then?.."

He turned around completely, causing her to freeze in place. The look she was getting sent shivers down her spine, making her realize that she wasn't about to escape so easily. "Oh, yeah… I suppose I do, huh?..." Once she said that he turned back around and started to walk again, to which Mai forced herself to follow, fearful of not doing as he asked.

As they headed onwards, she took notice of a van from the corner of her eye. Mai was surprised that she hadn't noticed it earlier when she came around the building that morning. Perhaps something in her field of vision at the time kept her from seeing it… But it certainly interested her. The two of them moved to the back of the building, which is where she caught sight of a strange sight. It left her dumbfounded.

"Take the microphones down, I'll get the stands." Her gaze moved to the male beside her, nervous about this being her first task. She didn't exactly know how this was set up, so she feared to get it wrong and actually breaking something else.

"O-oh, yeah, okay…" Going over to them, she had to take a moment to feel them and figure out how they were put on the stands. Noticing a switch, she flicked it and the mic came right off, sliding off the stand. Squeaking, she quickly caught it, taking a few breaths to calm herself. Once she did so, she carefully lifted the mic back up and brought it closer to her face to get a better look at it. "What were you using these for, anyway?"

"Well, microphones are generally used to collect sound…"

It was as if he was teasing her, her gaze snapping up towards the male in a glare. "I know that! I mean for this situation. It seems a little off to be putting microphones outside a school building."

"It's dangerous to go into a haunted building you're not familiar with yet." He stated, "So it's important to gather as much information as possible from outside the location."For example, capturing sounds with microphones outside the building."

"So if you're going inside, now… You're not scared of the haunted building?" Mai couldn't help but ask, given the circumstances. As she did so, she gathered the second microphone from its stand.

"Not particularly."

After a few, long moments of silence, she moved aside so he could gather the stand she was beside. "That does remind me… Why are you doing this?"

Without hesitation, he responded, "Because they need me."

"Need you?" Mai silently questioned, questioning that motive. It seemed off for someone as young as him to be running his own business, but she wasn't about to question it. "And there hasn't been an area you were unable to solve the problems for?"

"Never. I have always been able to solve each case given to me."

The brunette stared at the other, lost in thought. How was he able to think so highly of himself? She didn't know, but she wished she had this self-confidence. "W-wow… So you're as smart as you are handsome, impressive…"

His attention snapped to her, despite his still ever blank face. "You think I'm handsome?"

"W-well, I mean, everyone else seems to think that, so I guess so." She had no idea why she let herself admit that, but that was what came out of her mouth before she could think it over.

"I see," He turned around, making his way over to what was possibly the van. "You have good taste."

That was a slap to her face, feeling herself tolt back for a moment before glaring at Kazuya's back with a fluster on her face. She couldn't believe this man! She supposed he had good looks and was impressive to be the president of a company at such an age, but the most noticeable thing about him was that narcissistic attitude he gave off.

She had the perfect name for this guy. Never will she call him by his proper name again. From now on, his name is Naru. And he totally deserved the nickname.

**Hellohello, I'm back with a new chapter, delving back into the manga for my source. I also got most of the physical copies for the manga now in English, meaning I can actually keep true to my word about staying based on the manga. The online source I had used before is no longer working so I'm glad I can keep to my word. I'm also thinking of doing a second chapter for my Apartment Complex AU this coming week, so for those who liked that first chapter look forward to another incoming chapter sometime soon! Until then, I hope you enjoy my weekly posting of this fic.**


	9. Case 1-3 - Old Schoolhouse

**3rd Person, Limited, Mai Taniyama**

Thankfully, it felt as if time flew as they took down the microphones. Two at a time, the back of the schoolhouse was cleared of any electronics with both herself and Kazuya working together. She found herself relieved when everything was gone, and she hoped that it meant that she would soon be free to return home, in order to find some time to relax on the bed despite her inner chaos.

Once again, the teenager followed the other to where everything was being packed up. Holding the last two microphones in her arms, she was careful to put them away. "Alright, I helped you with everything in the back, right?"

As she finished setting everything down, she heard the noise of a trunk being opened. Assuming that it was from the van she was right next to, due to how close the sound was, she looked up. Her face nearly turned white at the sight before her. She wasn't sure if she was correct, but that was a lot of equipment! Parting her lips, she tried to find the words, but nothing came out.

Kazuya moved aside what seemed to be metal piping from the front of everything within the van. "Let's carry everything inside."

"E-everything?" Mai muttered to herself, feeling herself recoil at the thought. "You need… Everything?"

"Yes, we are going to require all the equipment." He responded, as he picked up some pieces of shelving. Making his way over to her, he placed a couple pieces into her arms, which made her shiver from how cool they were.

"Are we going inside, then?" Mai felt herself ask, tilting her head up towards the other.

"Of course." Looking back towards the girl, Kazuya continued. "Don't worry, you aren't going in on your own."

The female stared at the other in slight confusion before nodding, following him inside. It had taken a moment to process, but she could've sworn that the comment he made was him trying to reassure her. Despite this, everything she's heard about the place unnerved her, and made her nervous to be within the walls of the building for longer than she had to be. The entire situation was odd to her, and she wondered how on earth she managed to get into it. It wasn't as if she feared this circumstance, but it was more so where it would head over time.

"Let's use this room." Shibuya suddenly stated, out of the blue. It had made Mai flinch, but she then realized the room he was going into, and trailed along.

It didn't take much for her to realize that this was likely once used as a science or home economics classroom, with how the tables were set up. Mindlessly walking forward, Mai looked around the room, before moving over to the table that Kazuya had seemed to choose.

"Can you build the shelves? I'll go and bring in more equipment as you do so." The male asked, as he looked towards Mai.

"You're leaving me by myself?" The female squeaked out, concerned over the concept of being alone.

"Would you rather carry the equipment? Some of it weighs more than forty kilograms."

The thought of carrying something that heavy made Mai look down, whining in defeat. "I'll build the shelf…"

As Naru left the room, the brunette looked back towards the rest of the material she was provided to make one of the shelves. Setting her own pieces down, she started to feel the parts, trying to understand how they worked and hopefully how they were put together. It was difficult for her to understand, and she found herself fiddling with each piece, in an attempt to put them together and seeing what worked, and what didn't.

Suddenly, she heard a noise come from the ceiling, which made her jump out of her skin in fear. Snapping her head towards the sound, Mai put a hand to her chest to feel her racing heart. "W-what on earth was that?..." She muttered to herself, before slowly moving her attention back to her work.

As she did so, however, she also started to hear the creaking of wood within the area, and she perked up. Nervously, she slowly looked over towards the door she came through not too long ago. Staring that the area void of any interest, she was about to try to finish what she was doing, so that she wouldn't risk being in trouble, when she noticed something.

Thinking it was a person who shouldn't be in the building, she was ready to scream and take the measures to defend herself. However, after what felt like forever of widened eyes and not breathing to her, the form came to be something she didn't quite expect.

Finally inhaling, her body leaned against the table and her head tilted to the side. It was just Naru… With what was likely cords, but that fact didn't matter much to her at the moment. "D-don't scare me like that…"

Without a word, he went to the table and set the cords down. The narcissist seemed to stare at the table for a bit longer than he should've before turning and looking at Mai. "Do you not know how to put the shelf together, Taniyama-san?"

Mai instantly felt her pride get the better of her, clenching her teeth together. "O-of course I do, why wouldn't I?!"

"Then get to work." He then went back to the door, leaving to get another round of equipment.

The brunette glared at the door for a moment, hands clenched and shaking in anger. She knew how to do it, really! At least… She knew she would be able to figure it out. There was never a time where she was completely stumped on how to solve a problem, even if it did tend to take time for her to figure everything out. This would be no different she was sure of it!

Whipping her body to face the table, she glared at it. She would get it built, no matter what! Taking the two pieces that she was looking at before, she inspected them before putting them together. Noticing how they fit together, A smirk appeared on her face. That was exactly what she needed to figure out, so she would be well on her way to completing the miniature project set for her.

By the next time Kazuya entered the room, Mai was actively putting parts together. She struggled on occasion, however, she managed to get it done quickly enough that she had everything she needed built done by the time that Naru had everything brought in, she was done.

After that, he had her put the monitors on the bottom shelves, which he connected the wires needed to them. For the rest of the shelves, he put the monitors on himself, and Mai worked on the wires. Thankfully, she noticed how her boss seemed to put them in the other monitors, and used that as a guide the entire time, other than when she was asked to do something different, which she gladly did.

Thankfully, not much time was needed to complete everything they did up until this point. She was sure the sun was setting by now, but it was better than she thought it would be. Stepping back to see the work they did, Mai found herself stunned by how much there really was. "Wow…" She muttered under her breath, hoping that the boss in the room didn't overhear her.

Hearing movement from a box, Mai turned over towards it to see what was happening next. She found herself surprised at what Kazuya was pulling out of it. Making her way over to him and the item, Mai tilted her head. "A tape recorder?..." Knitting her brows together in thought, she pursed her lips before speaking again. "No… This one is different…"

"Yes," Naru responded, "This one can record up to twenty-four hours, so it has a different design compared to normal tape recorders."

"I see…" Mai spoke quietly to herself.

As he took the current film from the recorder, Noll spoke. "Please don't ask any stupid questions. I hate having to explain everything."

What he said instantly made Mai squint at the older teen. Did she hear what she thought she heard? "Don't ask stupid questions? You're the one that hired me without thinking about that. If it's that much of a bother, then I just won't help you!"

The two stared at one another, their gazes equally serious, until Kazuya sighed. "Fine."

Mai smirked, feeling accomplished in regards to getting Naru to give in to her will. She supposed he realized that if he wanted her to work well, she needed to know about everything. "So if you're using a recorder like this, then does that mean you aren't staying overnight? Or is this just to make sure you capture everything?"

"Not tonight, no." He responded, replacing the film with a new, empty set. "If there really is a ghost, I'll need to determine its strength before I stay overnight."

"Ohhh," Mai mindlessly spoke out loud, "So you're a stone tapper."

Kazuya looked over towards her, brow raised. "What?"

Mai perked up in realization, but also slight concern. That was a common term used, so she didn't get how he didn't know about it. "Oh, you tap the stone before you cross. Or, you look before you leap. In other words, you're really cautious about things you do."

"Of course I am. You may encounter extremely dangerous situations when going to a haunted location. If you underestimate, you may never return."

Shivers went through Mai's body at the thought, as she forced up a smile and chuckle to go along with her response. "J-jeez, that's a dark thought, isn't it?"

Naru looked back towards Mai. "Perhaps, however, it is the truth."

Brown eyes shimmered for a moment, unable to go against the other's words. After a moment, she moved her attention to something else, to get the odd feeling in the room to disappear. Her eyes caught sight of one of the cameras by her feet, on the floor. "So, what kind of camera is this?"

By the time she asked, he had gone back to work on a piece of equipment. "I don't want to speak any longer."

Unamused by the gesture, Mai crossed her arms, a thought of how to get the information instantly approaching her. "I see, I see." Mai mindlessly spoke, moving her gaze up towards the ceiling. "But you can't blame me if I ever make any mistakes because I don't know the answers." Lifting her skirt upwards, as if it were a long dress instead, she lifted her leg up. "Is this even a camera? What if it's just a fancy footstool to get to the higher monitors? Oopsies."

When she looked back towards her boss, his attention was focused on her, eyes sharp. Once again, the both of them stared at one another, before he lowered his head. "It's an infrared camera…" As Mai put her foot and school skirt back down to proper positions, he continued, pointing out each different camera. "To save you the trouble of asking, this is a thermograph, and this is a high speed camera."

Mai smiled in acceptance of the answers she was given, looking at each of them. "Really? This is my first time seeing this kind of tech. There's nothing like it in the audiovisual room."

"That's because they are very expensive, and not something a school would casually have on hand."

"Oh…" Averting her gaze at the thought, Mai tilted her head. She has looked at cameras before, and she did admit that good ones were expensive. So for these kinds of cameras… Mai didn't want to know the price. All she knew, was to not break them like she did the first one.

Kazuya approached Mai, and handed her a thermometer, along with a clipboard and pen. "Go around to each room and list the temperature within, then come back."

Blinking, the girl looked at the small machine in her hands, before looking back up and nodding. "Alright, I will." Going over to the door, Mai inspected the item in her hands, trying to better understand it and how it worked. It had a screen on it, that she could tell. This made her suspect that she would have a migraine by the time she was finished.

Over time, as she got used to the machine, and moving from room to room, she felt her head start to sting. It made her hope that this was the final task she had to do before she was allowed to go home. Then she could get some medication in her system so she could sleep without issue. With her head buzzing by the time she returned, and the brunette leaned against the outside of the door before entering it, items ready to be handed back to Kazuya.

"I'm back," She announced, "And I measured the temperature in every room, like you asked." She offered the clipboard to him, and as she expected, he instantly took it. Looking back at the device, she frowned. If it wasn't for the screen, she would've mentioned how handy it was. Because it would be more useful than the usual thermometers, for most people.

"Nothing unusual… There is no particular temperature drop in any of the rooms. The first flower is lower than the others, however… Not enough to matter."

He seemed focused on the page, and Mai mindlessly watched him as she rubbed the smooth metal on the thermometer. "Does that mean there's no spirits, then?"

Holding his free hand out, Kazuya replied, "We don't know that yet. Ghosts don't always expose themselves where there are strangers in their area. It takes time for them to offer us evidence." Mai handed the teen the item in her hands, as he continued, "We learned nothing from this, we should set up the infrared cameras. Five of them, two in each of the floor's hallways, and one at the entrance."

"If you say so…" Mai muttered, concerned as to who would be moving the cameras to each spot. As she watched him pick up a stand, she could've sworn her face paled. Of course it was her that had to carry the cameras…

Over time, her back started to hurt with each camera. Naru hadn't been wrong, in regards to the weight of some of the equipment. And the fact that she had to carry two of them up a staircase did not help her situation much. By the time they had set everything up, all the different cameras and connecting them to the monitors, she felt as if her back was about to break in half.

"M-my back…" She whined to herself, holding it, while leaning against a wall. "Hopefully Gym class isn't for a few days…" Otherwise, she may suffer throughout class, with how much her back ached from all the lifting she did.

"You may go home, now." Kazuya spoke, back facing away from Mai. "The cameras will do the rest."

"Thank goodness." Smiling in relier, she moved off the wall, glad to think of her safe haven. Smiling, she looked over towards him, before tilting her head. "Seriously, though… Psychic research with equipment? That seems a little off for a psychic."

"I'm a ghost hunter, not a psychic. There is a difference."

"Alright…" Averting her gaze at the thought, Mai started to inch towards the entrance, where she would be able to leave and go home. "Well, um… I'm gonna go now. I think it's pretty late…"

As she inched onwards, she heard him speak. "Tomorrow, after school."

"Tomorrow?" Mai parroted back, confused.

"Meet me by the van."

She was surprised to hear that, her eyes widening. Did he say tomorrow, too? Despite her entire being craving the choice not to attend, she knew better, by this point, than to refuse. "Ok…"

"Good. Have a good evening."

"You too." Turning the entire ways around, Mai drowned in her internal sorrow, now that she knew that she had to return to the schoolhouse the next day, as well.

Ah, well. Perhaps she can relax at home for a while before going to bed, at least.

**Ahh, I have been officially late for the first time. But I worked all night on this chapter, and it was a bit longer than what I've been offering, as of late, so I hope that is enough to make the slightly longer wait worth it. I got caught up in the release of Animal Crossing, and have been ramming time into it as much as possible, making me completely forget until today about this chapter. Oopsies ;;^^**

**But it's here now, and that's what matters. I hope you all enjoy!**


	10. Case Note - 00

**Hey there, it's me, Maiumi.**

**My apologies for the lack of chapters within this hiatus that seemed to occur so quickly.**

**The reasoning that this had happened was initially due to some drama that I had seen happen, not only here but absolutely everywhere, which I won't name anything that I saw. The negativity that I witnessed was absolutely disgusting and seeing it happen to people I know and care about with a lack of reason other than the lack of human compassion absolutely killed me and all of my characters. Which leads to why it took me so long to come back.**

**The pandemic along with this seen drama had lead to a mood drop that I hadn't endured in years. I was left trying to control my emotions and hope that they rose back up over time. As you can see, my mood rose up enough for me to bother even coming back onto the site after this long hiatus.**

**I apologize for how long it'd taken me to come back, the events in real life as of recently has seemed to get to a lot of people in a similar manner to what I have (and still am) enduring. However, this doesn't mean that I feel comfortable enough to promise to get back to writing just yet. I'm not quite sure if I can in the state I'm in, however, I do wish to try. But it might not be for this story but for a project that I desire to complete more than this one. There's something I've had in the backburner for some time, about as long as I've had this one on my mind.**

**I suppose it depends on my mood up and coming. Both for if and what I write. Due to this, as well, my schedule will likely become obsolete and I'll post when I feel in the mood until this entire worldwide crisis ends.**

**That said, I want to respond to some reviews that I have gotten within this hiatus while I'm here, so here we go!**

**Chapter 9**

**CaitHawke4Ever: This reminded me of how the original set up of the equipment went. Of course in the original Mai did not have so much trouble setting up the shelves. Update when you can. MaiXNaru forever!**

**MaiumiTaniyama: Haha, that's exactly how it's supposed to feel like. Not exactly the same, but kind of. After all, the same events are happening, but it isn't like the characters themselves are too different. The only one to actually be different's Mai, due to her experiences.**

**nagisa akabane: Pleasee update and is it possible that there can be any changes in this story like for example mai actually the first one to solve the case and casualky giving hints to naru  
Hehe**

**MaiumiTaniyama: I suppose this author's note says a lot about what I have planned regarding this story. As for changes, as I mentioned to the previous review I'm responding to, the events aren't going to be all that different, at the moment. Mai herself doesn't actually know what she's looking for nor does she understand the concept of the paranormal other than the ghost stories she writes. For her to add everything up and actually know that was what Naru's looking for wouldn't be instantaneous, it'd likely take at least one case for it to process.  
If anything, this fic is more fit to be considered a domino effect in its ways. More changes will happen the more Mai understands how everything works, as well as the subtle differences adding up over time to offer more dramatic ones later.  
Trust me, I have plans for this fic and where it'll go over time. It's just that the start will feel bland, like any other start to a canon-based Ghost Hunt fic.**

**Well, that's that. Anything else sent will be answered when I post the next chapter. Until then, I hope that everyone stays safe and protected during this troubling time.**


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